Brian Campbell won the John Deere Classic 2025 in a playoff on Sunday. The 32-year-old beat Emiliano Grillo with a par on the first extra hole at TPC Deere Run to take his second win of the year, both in a playoff. Interestingly, the golfer opted to not hit the practice range ahead of the final showdown and stayed inside in comfort.
Campbell closed the final round with a 4-under 67, about a half-hour ahead of the final group. The golfer stayed inside the clubhouse for over 40 minutes and followed the score from the comfort. Following his win, the champion golfer revealed that he didn’t go out to practice ahead of the playoff to get some rest. He dubbed Sunday’s play “grueling” and said everyone was “sweating” because of the ‘hot’ condition.
He added staying in to “take a break” instead of going out to putt for ‘minutes.’
Detailing his brief break ahead of the playoff, Brian Campbell said, as quoted by ASAP Sports:
“Yeah, it's grueling out here. We're sweating. It's just hot. I think we really needed to take a break, get some water, rather than go out and beat balls and putt for who knows how many minutes… It was really just a team effort to get some rest and get mentally ready.”
For the unversed, Campbell’s victory put him in a rare club with Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Sepp Straka and Ryan Fox as the only golfers to have multiple victories on the PGA Tour this year.
Brian Campbell laud fans at John Deere Classic
Campbell is a University of Illinois alum and he was treated by fans at John Deere Classic as a hometown hero, despite being a California native. The PGA Tour pro, who first attended the event on a sponsor's exemption, said the weekend was the most “support” he’s received at any golf tournament.
Opening up about the fans, Brian Campbell said, as quoted by ASAP Sports:
“It's awesome. I've never had this much support at any golf tournament, and so I never knew it would be this awesome to feel the crowd out there and get it done in this fashion.”
Apart from the fans, he went on to laud the event. He cited his rivals’ moves and dubbed it ‘magic.’
Brian Campbell added:
“Magic does happen at the John Deere. Man, I just can't think of all the shots. I mean, (Jorda) Spieth's hole-out from the bunker, (Steve) Stricker's impossible 4-iron from the bunker to win for his third time… So thrilled to be here. They put on such an amazing tournament here. Thanks.”
Meanwhile, the champion golfer also admitted being under some pressure ahead of the outing. He dubbed it a “challenge” arriving at the event after dealing with sickness. The 32-year-old pulled through to clinch his second-ever victory on the PGA Tour.